During the summer she is sixteen, overweight Rita Formica falls in love with the most beautiful young man she's ever seen and is determined to win him at all costs.
In the middle of a small and largely unnoticed nervous breakdown, fifteen-year-old Joel tries to cope with the complications caused by his brother's sudden fame as a novelist, a devoted dog, and the kidnapping of his brother's former girlfriend.
Seventeen-year-old Noli feels as if she has found her soul mate when handsome, sensitive TJ moves to Sag Harbor, but even as their feelings deepen, individual secrets threaten their relationship.
